SMU’s Cox School of Business has announced that its full-time M.B.A. program has been ranked #12 among business schools in the United States by Bloomberg Businessweek – up from #18 in the publication’s last ranking (in 2008) of full-time programs.

To compile the ranking, Bloomberg Businessweek surveyed M.B.A. graduates from the class of 2010 and the recruiters who hire them. The M.B.A. surveys and the recruiter polls each contribute 45% to the final ranking, with an intellectual-capital ranking contributing the final 10%.

Cox graduates gave the faculty an A+ for teaching and an A for career services. Recruiters gave the 2010 grads an A+ for analytical skills and an A+ for general management skills.

This ranking solidifies the Cox School’s ranking among the top 15 for all of its graduate programs. Bloomberg Businessweek also ranks Cox #9 and #15 worldwide for its Executive M.B.A. and Professional M.B.A. programs, respectively.

The ranking comes on the heels of other good news for the Cox School: This fall, The Economist ranked the Cox full-time M.B.A. program #13 in the world for the international breadth of its alumni network. The magazine ranked Cox among the top 15 schools in the world for potential to network, alumni effectiveness and faculty quality.

Also this fall, the Financial Times ranked the Cox E.M.B.A. program #6 in the world for its entrepreneurship program and #3 in the world for finance.

“Our students and recruiters have spoken, and the Cox School has again received glowing recognition,” said Cox Dean Albert W. Niemi Jr. “Having a top-ranked M.B.A. program begins with an outstanding faculty and offering admission to students with strong academic and professional backgrounds. However, regardless of the continual ebb and flow of the rankings, the Cox School continues to place the greatest emphasis on providing a classroom environment that allows our students to learn not just from our tremendous faculty but also from each other.”

“We are so proud of our 2010 graduates and our Career Management Center for offering tireless, one-on-one guidance and counseling in a very difficult economy,” said Marci Armstrong, associate dean of graduate programs. “Our small, private-school environment offers a highly-personalized experience for students and recruiters, and we are honored to have earned this recognition.”